Nepal is a sovereign country with an ancient civilization, discovered thousands of years ago, and lies between China and India, South Asia.
The famous Hindu Literature such as The Puranas, The Mahabharata, Jain, and Buddhist sculpture, established Nepal's history as an independent territory and political state. The Gopalas and Manishpalas are believed to have the first rulers in Nepal. Matatirtha in the South-West of the country was the capital of Gopalas and Manispalas. The Kiratis ruled the valley for the 7th and 8th centuries after the victory over Gopalas and Mahishpalas.
The documented history of Nepal started with the inscription of King Manadeva of the Lichchhavi Dynasty in Changu Narayan Temple: a UNESCO World Heritage site (Culture), dated back to the 5th century. Lichhavi is believed to have migrated from North India in around 300A.D.., and brought down the Kirats. Amshuvarma was an important Lichchavi monarch who opened trade routes with China. His daughter Bhrikuti was married to the Tibetan ruler Tsrong-then Gompo, and she played an active role in spreading Buddhism in Tibet and China. The art and architecture inside Kathmandu valley were initiated in the Lichhavi period. But the golden age of artistry arrived in the Malla period in 1200A.D.
The period between The Lichhavsi and the Mallas is called the transition period, as there are written records after the fall of Licchavi Kingdom in 879 A.D. This era was the period of the early development of architecture, refinement of bronze and stone sculpture.
The Mallas period began in the thirteen century and ruled for about 550 years. The Mallas built many splendid temples and artistically designed places with picturesque squares.
The social reforms activities like the Sanskritization of the valley people, new methods of land measurement and allocation were started to do in the Malla period.
The Kathmandu valley was divided into three kingdoms: Kathmandu, Bhaktapur, and Patan in about 1484 A.D., ruled by different Malla rulers. During this time, Nepal was divided into 46 independent principalities. The Shah was the ruler in the Gorkha Principalities, the western part of Nepal.
The Shah's history was started in an area where Magars were inhabiting in Gorkha when Dravye Shah (1559-1570r) established the kingdom in 1559. The ambitious and farsighted ruler Prithivi Narayan Shah (1769-1775r) was the nine-generation descendant of Dravya Shah, who conquered all over the Kingdoms in the valley by; 1769. Prithvi Narayan Shah moved the capital to Kathmandu Valley, and the Shah dynasty was established and started ruling unified Nepal. The Shah dynasty in unified Nepal ruled from the late 18th century to 2008.
The modern period of Nepal started after the unification of principalities in Nepal by Prithvi Narayan Shah. Prithvi Narayan Shah succeeded in bringing together the diverse region-ethnic group together under one national banner. Prithvi Narayan Shah dismissed the European missionaries from Nepal; then that the country remained in isolation for more than a century.
Jung Bahadur Rana was the founder of the Rana Oligarchy. He is famous as the most powerful leader in the history of Nepal. Jung Bahadur Rana appointed his brothers to the main posts of the country. Later the hereditary reign of Rana Prime Minister was started, which lasted for about 104 years. Rana was overthrown from power in February 1951, giving way to the rise of Democracy in Nepal. King Tribhuvan returned to Kathmandu from Delhi and regained his monarchy power. In 1959, the first multiparty democratic general election was held in Nepal. Nepali Congress party was voted into power and the new government with the Prime Ministership of Bishweshwar Prasad Koirala was formed. But, shortly thereafter, on December 15, 1960, the democratic parliamentary system was dissolved by King Mahendra of the Panchayat system. On April 8, 1990, the ban for political parties was restored and again the multiparty democracy was restored with the king as the Head of State and an executive Prime Minister. In April 1990. An interim government was formed under the Prime Ministership of Mr. Krishna Prasad Bhattarai.
In February 1996, the communist party the Maoist movement against the elected government and monarchy was started. On 1st June 2001, the saddest and horrific tragic incident in the history of Nepal, the Royal massacre occurred where King Birendra and Queen Aishwarya and many people who were close with the royal family lost their life. Later, King Gyanendra was crowned as the King of Nepal. In April 2006, the democratic parties of Nepal jointly launched the People’s movement focusing on Kathmandu. In the end, the Kind Gyanendra handed over his power and restored the Parliament.
The first constitutional assembly held on 28th May 2008, declared Nepal as Federal Democratic Nepal. In November 2006, the Comprehensive Peace Agreement to end the Maoist movement and establish peace for the progress of the country was signed by Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala and Maoist Chairman Prachanda. Later, in April 2008, a constitution Assembly election was held. The newly elected Constitution Assembly of Nepal declared Nepal the Federal Democratic Republic on May 29, 2008, abolishing the 240-year-old monarchy. The first Constitutional Assembly instruction was terminated naturally in 2012 after it could not fulfill the historic task due to the disputes between the political parties on different issues like federal provinces and form of government. The Second Constitution Assembly was held on November 20. In the first meeting between the different political parties set a 1-year time task completion on writing a new constitution.
In April 2015, the devastating earthquake of 7.8 magnitude and several aftershocks hit Nepal caused the loss of life, property, and infrastructure. Most of the mid-hills of Nepal like Gorkha, Kathmandu valley went through massive destruction. The devastating situation created a sense of urgency for writing the constitution among the political parties to come to the important conclusion to prioritize the disaster reconstruction.
The new constitution of Nepal was enacted on September 20, 2015, through an abundant majority of votes of members of the Constitutional assembly. After this, the elections for New President, Vice-President, Prime Minister, and some other positions of the state have been successfully held.
